Fascinating read, thanks for posting!
Strikes me as overly optimistic, but anyone trying to sell the JSF would have to be I suppose.
I've been scouring the web for some time trying to find a quote from an ex-defense minister in Canada (or at least someone involved in the decision making process for acquiring the CF-18). The gist of it was that the CF-104 "widowmaker", despite its great performance, proved that Canada should never again purchase a single-engine fighter. 200 were built, 110 were lost due to accidents, primarily from engine failures over harsh terrain and secondarily from poor handling characteristics.
Canada needs aircraft with long range to cope with long travel times and not strain the budget with 3-4 refueling runs to get a gimp of a fighter across the nation. More importantly, if you lose an engine over the Rockies in a single engine fighter, it's a write-off - countless Canadian Hornets have limped back to a suitable landing area with only one engine; the JSF (as cool as it is) wont have that luxury.
Ugh, I always rant when this pops up - my apologies...
(We should be buying the Superbug, F/A-18E! We can get more of them for what we're paying!)
